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Today I'd like to share a really important experience. My husband James and I had our first boy seven years ago and at first did not intend having another one. About three years ago I got broody again, I managed to change James mind and we started trying.. but it just didn't happen! The first time was so easy, I guess because we were young. This time took so long we almost gave up. Thankfully we didn't!

We became obsessed with doing everything right, made several (overdue!) lifestyle changes and took supplements for several months. I think my body took some time to adjust after I came off the pill again. We also had James's swimmers tested and they weren't as good as we had hoped.

So I decided to research fertility supplements for us. I took omega-3s, folic acid and Agnus Castus, which helps restoring hormone balance when you come off the pill. For James I found something called fertilsan M, which is specifically made to improve the quality of sperm. Thankfully just as we were about to buy expensive fertility treatment last summer to give it our last shot I conceived.

What is fertilsan M?

fertilsan M is a fertility supplement for men. Similar to how women take pregnancy supplements like folic acid, men can take supplements to enhance the quality of their sperm. I didn't know how important this is, until I read that the quality of male swimmers apparently massively decreased over the last 20 years. Men only need to take such a supplement on a "pre-pregnancy" basis, because all they need to is to deliver the one quality shot at the right time. Well, that's easier said than done!

fertilsan M includes several ingredients, which improve semen quality measured in terms of sperm count, morphology (shape), motility (movement) and a few other factors. The amino acids Arginine and Cysteine and zinc provide building blocks for sperm cells and improve morphology and count. Carnitine provides energy for the sperm and therefore improves motility. The other group of ingredients are anti-oxidants, which protect the sperm's DNA. The vitamins included are A, C, E, D3, B9 (folic acid) and Coenzyme Q10, which is not a vitamin, but considered a very powerful antioxidant.

Before we bought it I did a lot of research for James on google to make sure he really needed to take all this stuff. I found a proper scientific study which essentially backs this up: http://www.altmedrev.com/publications/5/1/28.pdf (I bookmarked it!)

How do you take it?

You take three capsules once a day with water and ideally with a meal. Sperm cells take three months to mature in the testies before they are ready. Therefore a man really has to take a fertility supplement to make sure that the swimmers that come out are the good ones! All nutrients are natural without side effects so you can take it until it works.

How much does it cost?

One month costs £39.95 plus £5.95 shipping (£1.53 per day). If you order three months' there is a discount and the cost per day drops to £1.06.

What are the alternatives?

I looked at a few, because there are several similar supplements on the market. Wellman Conception and Fertilman are big brands and cheaper, but have very small amounts of the key ingredients. Orthomol fertil plus also includes omega3s, but is several times more expensive than fertilsan M.

How do you buy it?

I bought it for James directly from the manufacturer called amitamin, which is based in Germany. The website is sleek and I remember the order was straight-forward. They have a Trusted Shop seal and I think I paid with PayPal, which is very convenient. Once I placed the order I received an email with an invoice and another email with a UPS tracking number. The package arrived soon neatly packed from Germany. Wouldn't expect anything less from them &#9786; I also liked that it is made under strict regulation over there, which gave me some peace of mind. There are too many supplements out there produced in sheds and sold by dodgy websites!

The result

Well, we both started taking our supplements about 18 months ago and I finally got pregnant about four months later!

Compared to other products I looked at I felt that fertilsan M was fairly priced and offers just the right amount of nutrients. The Carnitine, which amitamin include in fertilsan M is called Carnitpure and apparently of higher quality.

I gave birth to our second son Roman six months ago and .. what can I say .. we are absolutely thrilled! It has been an amazing experience and I am sure the supplements have done their bit. I wish you all the best of luck out there, who are TTC and have got my fingers crossed for you that you will achieve your dream!

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Previously when we travelled to Dublin we visited Slatterys and had the best experience, the food was absolutely top class, price reasonable and staff very friendly, which made us visit twice more during that trip. Not surprisingly when we went again, which was the following year, we headed straight to Slatterys for a meal, and what a shock we got. I went straight down to the toilets, and found a work man down there and the ladies toilets out of order, he said to go ahead and use them which I did and in there was work mans tools and mess and it wasn't a place I wanted to be alone for a period of time. Back upstairs we ordered food and was disappointed that the menu had changed so much, though things like this are to be expected. I ordered lasagne, chips and salad and it was very ping ping food, edible and nice but nothing like the lovely food we have previously had there. We noticed signs up everywhere saying that the toilets were for customers only, and we soon learnt why..... people were coming in one door, down to the toilets, then back out of the other door, this happened on a few occasions and when my partner went down to the gents toilets he discovered the reason was they were buying and selling drugs there. This kind of thing is found everywhere and no huge shock but when you're away on a holiday type weekend you don't particularly seek out these kind of places to spend your time. Have to say won't be returning.

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The Temple Bar is possibly the most popular and well heard of pub in Dublin's temple bar area, having visited this place myself a few times over the years my opinion is that it is simply not worth the title, reputation or wasting your money in. I am recently back from a weekend in Dublin and visited this pub twice, once on a saturday afternoon and a sunday night and was disappointed each time. On the saturday afternoon it was very quiet and dispite the sign outside boasting of live music during the day there actually wasn't any, my partner ordered a pint of guinness and after 10 minutes asked if he had been forgotten, as I was sat with my drink, he had been but rather than apologising he then waited another 5-10 minutes before reminding the barman again - this was a quiet afternoon!! On the sunday night there was music but not a big irish band like you would expect, just a solo guitar player who refused to play any requests or even any irish songs, really not what you would expect. The female toilets are down a flight of narrow steep stairs, not unusual at all in dublin but I personally don't like this and it can feel a bit daunting to go down these dark small stairs alone, the toilets themselves are very very basic, only possibly 1-3 cubicles and they can get very busy. On my next trip to Dublin I will not be wasting my time my drinking in this pub, there's nothing unique or brilliant about it and there's hundreds better out there - including the Oliver st John Gogarty which is a 30 second walk and 100% times better :)

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I am a regular traveller on Ryanair airlines and use them at least a few times a year, or whenever I travel (Manchester to Dublin) and have always found them to be efficient, speedy and have absolutely no delays. I recently learnt that over 90% of all ryanair planes arrive at their destination either ahead of or on time, this is far more than any other air line. You are charged extra for things like luggage or priority seats but this is not unique with air lines and not an excessive amount making the total charge of your flights still cheaper than other airlines - it's just an annoying thing you can live with. The service on board is always brilliant, friendly stewards and a good selection of hot meals, cold meals, snacks and drinks available. You are kind of crammed in like sardines and this I do not like but for the money you pay and for the length of the flights, I personally take is around 30-40 minutes, it is bearable, having said that if I was doing a long haul flight I possibly would switch airlines for this reason. Check in must be done online and you must print your boarding passes out yourself, this could be a down side for some people but I personally find this very convenient and it makes checking in at the airport extremely simple and quick, merely just a case of showing your boarding pass, passport and handing over your case - you can pay around £50 for a 20kg baggage allowance, they can be very strict if your bag is over the 20kg but you can easily swap things around and add some more things to your hand luggage or wear an extra cardigan for example and then you're fine. All in all cannot complain and will continue to use ryanair so long as the service and prices stay as they are.

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This is a fantastic play gym, I bought it as a spare for Nannas house with my second child but ended up having it at home because it was such a fantastic gym. Can be used from day one, with the sit me up ring (which on it's own can be a very expensive product to buy) which cushions baby and supports to sitting. The bars going over have various activities to stimulate baby and when baby is able to sit alone you can remove the sit me up ring and put the bars on their own, maybe over a rug or carpet. Having said that we continued to use the sit me up ring way after baby could sit simply because he enjoyed to use it when we were reading, playing or he was having a rest or nap so this gym lasted us from newborn until way over 12 months which is very good going for a play gym. It's not big and bulky like some other gyms can be and although it's a range of activities they are compact and the gym can sit neatly without looking clumbersom or taking up lots of room.

I think they could improve this product by having a range of colours, blues and pinks are always nice to have your equipment in, it's a minor thing but only disadvantage I can think of.

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I am constantly surprised with the huge amount of baby snacks there are on the market now compared to when I had my eldest son, there's practically a supermarket aisle dedicated to baby snacks! With so many available it can be confusing to know where to start! I, personally, put ingredients way above everything else having always breast fed and then home cooked my babies food I like to know exactly what they are having, I am very careful with treats, I do not want anything with artificial colours of flavourings, e numbers, hydro fats, or anything considered unhealthy - if it is bad for an adult it's going to be worse for a tiny immune system. I turned to pre packed snacks purely for the convenience of them to carry around in changing bags, they are also a cheap way to get decent food into your baby, fruit can be expensive when you buy a lot of it and doesn't often have a long shelf life. I wanted something I could take out in my changing bag if we were away from the house for the day that I could just pass to baby as and when, with bananas for example babys tend to have them in chunks meaning you quite often end up with a rotting banana somewhere in your bag! Having tried one these curly crisps myself I would say they taste quite plan but then my taste buds are a few decades older than babys so am sure they have a lovely taste for him without being too strong. I buy these every week and have never had any kind of problem with them, 5* baby product!

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I am continually surprised with the amount of baby snacks there are on the market now for my 3rd child compared to my eldest son, there's practically a full aisle in supermarkets dedicated to baby snacks! With so many available it can be hard to know where to start! I, personally, put ingredients way above everything else having always breast fed and then home cooked my babies food I like to know exactly what they are having, I am very careful with treats, I do not want anything with artificial colours of flavourings, e numbers, hydro fats, or anything considered unhealthy - if it is bad for an adult it's going to be worse for a tiny immune system. My children all love fruit as a snack having been reared on things such as bananas and grapes for finger foods but granted it's not always cost effective to buy a bunch of bananas and hope they will last the month, that is why I turned to pre packed snacks. I wanted something I could take out in my changing bag if we were away from the house for the day that I could just pass to baby as and when, with bananas for example babys tend to have them in chunks meaning you quite often end up with a rotting banana somewhere in your bag! The convenience of this rice cakes is brilliant, there are some resealable bags available but I tend to use sandwich bags to help them stay fresher for longer. They are the perfect size for baby hands, and soften quickly so are easy for them to manage. There's a whole range of flavours on the market, I tend to stick to the apple just out of habit really, having tried one myself I would say they taste quite plan but then my taste buds are a few decades older than babys so am sure they have a lovely taste for him without being too strong. I buy these every week and have never had any kind of problem with them, 5* baby product!

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I used to work as an Avon representitive and received a reward of a hamper of every fragrance - plus samples to give out to customers. Each and every one I tried smelt fantastic at first, but less than an hour later walk into a room that hasn't been touched since you sprayed and the smell has totally gone, even on bedding it seems to disappear completely. Your so much better off sticking to febreeze, at least that does as it says it will. Very dissapointed with this, such a huge range of scents and yet none of them have any lasting scent. They're cheap enough to try but I really would not waste your money, I've used them on bedding, carpets, rugs, curtains, cushoins, suites - every fabric I could and yet they weren't satisfactory on a single one. Scent gone in under an hour, total gimmick product with very poor results.

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I had 2 models of this pram for 2 of my sons - one boston check, one polka dot. (Only reason bought again was because baby was a surprise just after I'd got rid of all my baby equipment) So I can speak from experience of using this model for around 7-8 years and have not a single complaint about it!

The folding down of this pram is very basic, fits in all boots, is no big deal to collapse on trains or buses which is quite unusal with a large travel system, it is lightweight enough to carry collapsed too. Had matching parts you can add on such as footmuffs and car seats if you want a complete set. And is compatable with universal rain covers, parasols and buggy boards.

The shopping basket underneath is the biggest I have known, you can fit so much under there! As previously said I've had versions of this pram used daily for years and never had a rip or tear in the basket and believe me there's times it has been fit to bursting!

All the fabrics strip off easily to wash or wipe down. The handles are extremely durable and unlike more modern brands with foam handles, these won't rip or tear in any way, are easy to grip and steer and are also adjustable which we found very handy with my partner being well over 6 foot and me barely 5! We could both push it with ease.

When baby is newborn until sitting (or until you wish) you have this in pram mode where it's basinette style and facing you and then as baby grows you can very simply strip the fabric, tilt up the back and move the hood to the other side and you have a push chair where toddler can see around, the hood also has a flap which you can lift to see baby this I loved.

For my latest addition I opted for a more modern pram, a bugaboo, and really regret this decision as the pliko pramette was in a different league, it ticked every single box where as I'm finding my bugaboo is no where near as durable, handles and bar are made of foam and are quickly becomming unrepareable, the wheels have punctured at least twice, it folds into 2 parts so takes up much more boot space as well as being a complete nightmare on public transport if you need to collapse it. If I could go back in time I would 100% purchase another mamas and papas pliko pramette.

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We bought our latest addition a jumparoo when he was around 4-5 months old and he used it for around 6 months maybe - most children could possibly use it for longer but my son has a habit of climbing out of everything - maybe straps or restraints would be a beneficial add on for this activity?Baby would be happy and contented in this for as long as I'd leave him in it, which would be no more than an hour a day unless he'd bounced himself to sleep which he tended to do a lot! It's a fantastic activity toy which we got as an alternative for a door bouncer. It's perfectly safe where as my feelings are door bouncers are not particularly. My critisism with the jumparoo is that it is so bulky! There's no simple way to fold it down when not in use so you do need to take into account you need a large space for it. Ours ended up in the garden after a couple of months and has now unfortunately become is an un useable condition which is a shame but living in a small house with no storage space there was little other option.I think the price is incredibly expensive but it can be found on numerous second hand websites for a fraction of this. I could find no way to strip the material to wash so was constantly scrubbing it which over time ded fade the fabric slightly and there was some stains which you just cannot get out without using a washing machine.Good points - baby adored this so money well spentBad points - big and bulky, can't store well

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I have just noticed the best offer price for this - £5.76+ shipping ?!!? I always buy this from the pound shop, for a pound! Or on offer in supermarkets for not much more, it's evident you'll get no bargains online with this.

To my review, I'm fanatical about cleaning, my products have to fit into the following categories - they have to be cheap, branded, highly fragranced, leave every where shiny, lasting odour and over all hygienic - this product fits all over the above.

I love the lasting clean fresh smell of apple, it's unique to other cleaners which are usually bleachy smelling, lemoney or bland so the apple makes a nice change. It leaves my kitchen work tops sparkling and clean to the touch. I feel confident using this product that my home is hygienic and bacteria free which is very important in a home with children and animals I feel.

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It's labelled as a fleece blanket but it is the thinnest possibly material it could be, it's too large for a small snuggle blanket and too small for a sleeping blanket so really what is the point?

This is a total rip of product that you'll get little to no use out of, I purchased it very very begrudgingly after we decorated one of my sons bedrooms in In The Night Garden theme and thought for the price if it would be very versatile as well as matching then I could reason the cost, I was mighty disappointed with it and as protest have never and will never purchase anything from In The Night Garden again, total rip off company out to target you by alluring your tots with cheap bad tv and making cheap bad products. Needless to say my son now has a Thomas the Tank room :)

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I always used to use the Lily scented shake and vac but was increasingly disappointed with it, the scent went as soon as you did and it made no difference to any of my carpets so I tried many different brands, then different types of deodorisers like the ones you put into the vac etc then I decided I'd try this citrus shake and vac as it was on offer in my local supermarket. I was amazed with it! Hours and even days after I have hoovered the scent still lingers, more so in less trafficed areas, in others it was mildy there just not as apparent. I buy this very regularly now but only in the marked down stores, pound shops etc where I tend to buy all my branded cleaners for a pound rather than a few in supermarkets, full retail price for this and other cleaners is extortionate.

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I had the complete I Love My Bear Range with my eldest son, now aged 7, and most of the range is absolutely great, very cute, lasts well and durable apart from this moses basket. I don't know whether I am being particularly incompetent but I could find absolutely no way to strip off the fabric to wash it? So even if you can strip it to wash it's no easy task!My son was fairy bonny and this basket only suited him until he was 6 weeks old, after that he was squashed and tipping it, I say it's undurable as it's permenantly out of shape where a 6 week old baby pressed against it? Also I expected him to be in a bassinet a lot longer than 6 weeks - my latter 2 children were in theirs for a lot longer, and there's wasn't from toys r us so there are better ones on the market. I chose this one purely to stay in the theme of I Love My Bear which isn't a a crucial thing to have when you think nobody ever see's all of the range together in one room!

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I'm fairly new to shopping at Aldi but am continually surprised by the absolute perfect quality of most of their products. This rice is one of them, previously I always bought the leading brand of rice in varying forms, microwavable, on the hob, boil in the bag etc and then I thought for the price of around 80 pence I will save a few quid each time and try this one, I was in no way dissapointed. It's not gloupy which I what I was expecting for a 'cheap' rice, it's perfectly fluffy rice with a really nice taste and versatile enough to go with anything. We usually match it with Aldi's curry sauces - which are absolutely 5* - aldi nans or pittas and aldi chicken, it's a meal we all look forward to having and clean plates are a guarantee. Save your money and buy this rice, the quality is outstanding